BitFenix has introduced a line of Spectre dual-frame fans based on the Pro series with their new Xtreme high static pressure fans. These are made with CPU cooling in mind, and are available in both black (without LEDs) and multiple color LED options.

The Spectre Xtreme fans operate from 950 - 2000 RPM with newly-designed fan blades for airflow up to 66 CFM with "optimum static pressure", making them "an ideal choice for liquid cooling solutions". The fans use fluid dynamic bearings for reduced noise levels, as well as increased efficiency and life expectancy, according to BitFenix.

"With the introduction of dual frame design of the BitFenix Spectre Pro series we raised the standards of system fans to a new level. The new BitFenix Spectre Xtreme fans offer many features redefining the standards of cooling fans. Spectre Xtreme gives you the best performance and aesthetics using the latest in cooling fan technology and innovative designs.

Cooling fans used in liquid cooling systems not only need to have a high airflow but also they need to be optimized for static pressure. The newly designed blades of the Spectre Xtreme not only look good but also improve the airflow of the fan to 66CFM while maintaining optimum static pressure. This makes the Spectre Xtreme fans an ideal choice for liquid cooling solutions."

In addition to black, the LED versions are available in white, blue, red, and a green color which BitFenix has taken “special care…to match the Green LED with the light emitted from NVIDIA GeForce GTX stock coolers”.

EKWB has issued a recall for all first-generation Predator 240 and 360 liquid CPU coolers due to risk of leakage. A new version (v1.1) of both self-contained coolers has been introduced to address the issue, and EK will provide one of the new units for those seeking a replacement.

EKWB is also taking responsibility for any component damage that may have resulted from any leaks, offering refunds for defective units (if a replacement is not desired) and affected components.

From EKWB:

"All Revision 1.0 units produced from October 2015 until end of December 2015 are potentially affected by the risk of leakage and in order to prevent any computer component damage, the units need to be replaced. The leakage may occur between copper cold plate and bracket on the water block after it is heated up and pressure rises. Current statistics show that 1 out of 10 units leaks.

We are warning all customers of EK XLC-Predator units to discontinue use of cooling device and contact EKWB for replacement unit or refund. EKWB is taking full responsibility for this issue and will be:

Replacing or refunding all returned units to the customers

Refunding the customer any computer component damage created by a leakage

EKWB has redesigned and released a new version of EK-XLC Predator (Revision 1.1) on the 4th of January 2016 that prevents any leakage under normal working modes. All customers with Revision 1.0 units will be offered a replacement R1.1 unit or a full refund. Revision 1.0 backplate is not compatible with Revision 1.1 backplate!"

SilverStone had an early enclosure on display at CES for the upcoming Mini-STX standard, the tiny form-factor introduced with Intel's "5x5" motherboard (which we first reported on almost exactly one year ago).

The simple black metal enclosure (as yet unnamed) looked and felt like a production unit, but we are still in the early stages with the first mini-STX motherboards being announced only this week. No details were given on when it would be available for purchase, or exactly how much it will cost.

It is interesting to note the enclosure's I/O, which should indicate the standard for the new motherboards. On the front panel we had openings for a standard USB and Type-C port, and 3.5 mm audio; around back there were two more USB ports, LAN, DisplayPort, and HDMI. To the left of the HDMI port you can see the power input for the external power supply, as mini-STX will have a lot in common with the thin mini-ITX standard. (Thin mini-ITX optionally supported internal PSUs, but given the space constraints it looks like the mini-STX boards will be using a laptop style power supply.)

The tiny Mini-STX enclosure fits easily in one hand

We will await any official announcement of this (and any other) upcoming mini-STX enclosure from SilverStone.

Lian Li has introduced a new electronic sit/stand desk chassis, the DK-04, which holds a full system under its tempered glass surface and raises and lowers at the push of a button.

On display at their booth at CES last week, the DK-04 offers a compelling option for someone interested in a standing workstation, with the added benefit of housing a powerful custom rig (and looking really cool in the process).

There is room under the glass desktop (this model does not use a drawer) for up to an ATX motherboard with one dual-slot expansion card, which can be used with a GPU up to 320 mm in length. CPU coolers of up to 120 mm are supported, along with 120 mm width radiators up to 480 mm long.

The front panel offers 4x USB 3.0 ports, RGB lighting controls, and a 5.25-inch optical drive bay; and there is internal storage support for up to 8x 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch hard drives. The entire unit is 47.24 inches wide, 29.53 inches deep, and can be adjusted from approximately 30 - 46 inches in height.

The control panel for the electric height adjustment includes the option for up to 4 presets, allowing the desk to easily adjust to various pre-defined seated and standing positions.

Pricing and availability have yet to be announced, but expect this to come in higher than IKEA's popular solution (which doesn't offer a the functionality of a full PC enclosure inside, of course).

Introduction and Features

As you might expect, be quiet! is focused on virtually silent power supplies and they continue to be one of the top selling brands in Europe. The Dark Power Pro 11 Series occupies the top tier in be quiets!’s PC power supply lineup. All of the Dark Power Pro 11 models are certified for high efficiency (80 Plus Platinum) and come with modular cables. In this review we will be taking a detailed look at the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 1,000W power supply with Cable Management. There are six power supplies in the Dark Power Pro 11 CM Series, which include 550W, 650W, 750W, 850W, 1000W and 1200W models.

be quiet! designed the Dark Power Pro 11 CM Series to provide high efficiency with minimal noise for systems that demand whisper-quiet operation without compromising on power quality. In addition to the Dark Power Pro 11 Series, be quiet! offers a full range of power supplies in ATX, SFX, and TFX form factors.

(Courtesy of be quiet!)

All of the Dark Power Pro 11 Cable Management Series power supplies are semi-modular (all cables are modular except for the fixed 24-pin ATX cable). Along with 80 Plus Platinum certified high efficiency and quiet operation, the Dark Power Pro 11 1,000W modular power supply features an overclocking key to select between multi-rail and single rail +12V outputs. The power supply uses be quiet!’s latest SilentWings3 135mm fan for virtually silent operation. The fan speed starts out very slow and remains slow and quiet through mid power levels. And the Dark Power Pro 11 power supplies allow connecting up to four case fans, whose speed will be controlled by the PSU.

SilverStone had a pair of CS Series enclosures on display at CES this year, with both ATX and Mini-ITX form-factors covered with these storage-oriented designs.

Beginning with the larger CS380, an enclosure that had previously been shown at Computex in a Micro-ATX form-factor. This slightly modified final version now supports a standard ATX motherboard for additional build flexibility, but this enclosure is really all about the hard drives. With eight 3.5-inch HDD trays up front (along with a pair of 5.25-inch bays that can each be replaced with hot-swap HDD trays, sold separately), there is plenty of storage space for a NAS or storage server build.

Inside, a pair of 120 mm fans keep the hard drives cool, and while the bare metal interior looks plain by modern standards these CS Series enclosures were build with enterprise standards in mind. The rest of the interior is pretty standard for an ATX enclosure, with a bottom PSU placement, 120 mm rear fan, and 7 expansion slots.

The smaller of the two storage enclosures, the CS280, is a mini-ITX design that scales storage support down to 2.5-inch drives.

Offering 8 HDD/SSD trays and supporting standard mini-ITX motherboards with up to a 2-bay, full-height expansion card, the CS280 provides a lot of build flexibility. While it would make a very compact storage server or hold a tremendous amount of SSD storage for a high-speed NAS, the CS280 could also house a compact, high-power gaming rig with a GPU like AMD's R9 Nano - if you desired this much storage support, that is.

Panels in the front of both cases allow view of HDD activity lights

The two enclosures differ beyond size as the CS380 has a plastic front panel/door, and the smaller CS280 features a brushed aluminum front panel and a more rounded appearance. These enclosures will be priced a little higher than typical consumer drives given their construction and purpose, but we will await final retail pricing (and availability) to see where they fit in the market.

SilverStone has expanded their lineup of small form-factor power supplies with new, high-power SFX models and a powerful new compact 140 mm ATX PSU.

Left to right: SFX 500W, SFX 650W, SFX-L 700W

First we have the updated SFX lineup for 2016, featuring a higher power 80 Plus Gold rated 650W standard model and a 700W SFX-L unit. All standard SFX models now feature larger 92 mm fans (up from 80 mm) for quieter operation. Moving up to the longer SFX-L form-factor, with their 80 Plus Platinum rated 700W power supply SilverStone has reached a new high for power density, and the new SFX-L power supply also features fully modular cables and a quiet 120 mm fan.

The new compact 850W Strider Platinum PSU (center)

The ATX Strider Platinum series now has a more powerful 850W option in their smallest 140 mm depth, up from last year's high of 750W in the same form-factor. True to its name the Strider Platinum 850W boasts 80 Plus Platinum efficiency, and offers a fully modular design.

Lian Li was showing a Yacht-themed aluminum chassis at their booth on the CES show floor, and this is certainly among the most unusual designs we've seen for an enclosure.

There is room for a powerful system within the enclosure, as the length of the boat design (just over 30 inches) allows for longer graphics cards (up to 300 mm supported). You will need an SFX power supply for this mini-ITX build, and CPU coolers will need to be of the low-profile variety with a 60 mm clearance available.

This is obviously not going to appeal to everyone, but if you've followed Lian Li over the years they release these novel enclosures from time to time. It was very impressive looking in person and feels well constructed with Lian Li's usual high level of fit and finish.

An RGB color changing system in integrated into the enclosure

This will not see a wide release, and no specifics on pricing or availability were released.

In Win was showing a concept for a new version of their 805 chassis at their booth on the CES 2016 show floor, and this version adds a special front panel with an infinite LED effect from its dual-mirror construction.

In addition to the cool front panel effect the 805 concept is compatible with RGB headers on certain motherboards (such as the ASUS ROG board used in the booth display), which control case lighting effects. The system on display was cycling color along with the ASUS ROG logo on the motherboard, and created a unique effect – especially given the front panel design, which really needs to be seen in person to maximize the effect.

Internally we are looking at the same enclosure as the existing 805, a fantastic looking design with tempered glass side panels, and here are the specifications of that enclosure (which launched back in August of 2015):

Case Size: Mid Tower

Material: Aluminum and 3 mm tempered glass

Internal drive bays 3.5"/2.5" x2 + 2.5" x2 (up to 4 drives total)

Motherboard: ATX / Micro-ATX /Mini-ITX (max 12” x 10.5”)

Expansion slots: 8

Power supply: ATX 12V, PSII Size and EPS up to 220mm

Front I/O: USB 3.1 TYPE-C x1, USB 3.0 x1, USB 2.0 x2, HD Audio

GPU support: Up to 320mm (164 mm height)

Cooling support:

CPU heatsink up to 156mm

Front 120/140mm Fan x2

Rear 120mm Fan x1 (Included)

Bottom 120mm Fan x2 (HDD cage removed)

Liquid cooling support:

Front: 120/140/240/280mm Radiator (Height up to 60mm)

Rear: 120mm Radiator (Height up to 35mm)

Dimension (HxWxD) 476 x 205 x 455 mm (18.7”x 8” x 18”)

In Win is looking for feedback with this concept of a new 805 design, and the current 805 (minus the infinite LED front panel) is available for $169 (Newegg) here in the US.